WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from January 9

The January 9 episode of SmackDown was dedicated to building the tag team division and creating genuine buzz for its contributions to the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Superstars earned "winner" status by helping their overall character development and strength.

Others, not so lucky, were deemed losers after being affected by their role Tuesday night.

Becky Lynch, Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable found themselves lucky enough to be on the former side, with a big win and a strong promo, respectively, elevating their stars and improving their stock with the blue brand.

Rusev, Aiden English and Mojo Rawley had rough nights, despite a win for one of them.

Let down by creative in more ways than one, they were the night's biggest losers.

Delve deeper into those Superstars' Tuesday nights and find out why they stood out from the rest of the pack.

Winners: Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable

"...but why was he in the match?"

Chad Gable's delivery of the above line, and the logical approach he and Shelton Benjamin took in questioning the outcome of last week's SmackDown Tag Team Championship match, helped earn them "winner" status.

Gable and Benjamin verbally confronted SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan and rightfully pointed out that, if the referee's decision is, in fact, final, they should be tag team champions. That, mixed with Gable's comedic timing and the increased exposure have the team rolling into the new year.

Throw in the announcement of a 2-Out-of-3-Falls match against The Usos for the titles at Royal Rumble, and you have every reason to buy into Benjamin and Gable as stars in the evolving blue brand tag team division. 

Losers: Rusev and Aiden English

Despite the enormous vocal response to Rusev and Aiden English's "Rusev Day" shtick, they remain unable to break through the lower level of competition. On Tuesday night, they lost clean in the center of the ring to Breezango.

Yes, the same Breezango last seen demolished in mere seconds by The Bludgeon Brothers.

WWE has a long history of refusing to give fans what they want if the act in question was never really intended to get over to the extent it did in the first place.

Look no further than current general manager Daniel Bryan, who spent years as the most popular Superstar on the roster before management had no choice but to book him as the WWE champion. Rusev and English find themselves in a similar situation.

The popularity of Rusev Day is unforeseen and has taken the SmackDown brand by storm, earning both Superstars increased television time. Unfortunately, they cannot buy a win, nor have they been presented as one of the top teams in the division.

The fans' support will ultimately become defiant, putting management between a rock and a hard place. And unfortunately for Rusev and English, it will result in more questionable defeats.

Winner: Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch returned to in-ring competition Tuesday night, battling Ruby Riott in singles action.

The Lass Kicker fought her way back into the match and scored the victory with the Disarmer, becoming the first woman to beat Riott in a one-on-one match.

Lynch has often been the forgotten woman in WWE's much-publicized revolution, overshadowed by the hot new stars management opts to push. Her return has injected the SmackDown division with a spark.

Arguably the best worker in either brand's women's division, Lynch has earned the spotlight. Whether she can sustain it going forward, with the assistance of WWE Creative, remains to be seen.

For the time being, her renewed energy and prominent spot in the ongoing rivalry vs. The Riott Squad has her rolling.

Loser: Mojo Rawley

Mojo Rawley may have defeated Zack Ryder to advance to the semifinals of the United States Championship Tournament Tuesday night, but his victory, and an impending showdown with Bobby Roode on next week's show, only shines a spotlight on the issues facing his character.

Yes, Rawley underwent a heel turn that saw him turn on his longtime tag team partner, Ryder. Unfortunately, a decided lack of follow-up and a blow-off match relegated to the Clash of Champions Kickoff Show has left Rawley unable to build any momentum for himself.

No one actually believes he will roll into next week's show and beat Roode, who has been presented as one of the elite stars on Tuesday nights. The writing team has failed to adequately feature Rawley in the wake of what should have been a career-defining moment.

Sure, he won Tuesday night, but he is in worse shape than he would have been had he remained one-half of The Hype Bros. Now, he is merely a singles star with no defined character, limited television time and no fan support. And he's expected to work a fairly high-profile match against Roode in which his weaknesses are likely to be exposed even further.